Electric Golf Car Maker Offers Solar Charging Option

E-Z-Go, a maker of electric-powered golf cars, said it will begin offering solar panel technology called PowerFilm on certain personal and fleet models as a way to extend their range and battery life while cutting the cost of charging batteries.

PowerFilm solar panels are light, thin and flexible so they are easy to install on the roof or canopy of a golf car. E-Z-Go, which is a unit of Textron, says the panels can reduce the cost of charging and maintaining the electric vehicles by as much as 20% annually compared with the cost of charging without the solar aid.

A handful of passenger cars use solar power for supplemental cooling and other accessories, and the coming availability of PowerFilm suggests solar technology may no longer be prohibitively expensive and complicated for consumer installation and use.

The company says PowerFilm panels for golf cars weigh less than seven pounds and are rugged and easy to maintain. They can be added without special tools or changes to the vehicle.

The panels go on sale next month. More information is available at www.ezgo.com.